Zelenskyy Asks Trump to Rein In Putin or Supply Interceptors as US-Ukraine Rift Widens

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, published Tuesday, that if President Donald Trump cannot rein in Russian President Vladimir Putin, the United States should give Ukraine interceptor missiles to protect its energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy has accused the Trump administration of delaying interceptor shipments and constraining Starlink satellite data used against Russian attack drones. Ukraine has nearly run out of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Trump is frustrated by what he called false claims of deliberate harm, that nothing was deliberately denied, and that supplies balance obligations to other partners and U.S. needs. Zelenskyy was to meet U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Norway Tuesday, with Jared Kushner expected to join remotely. Trump has also said he is open to meeting his Russian and Chinese counterparts and repeated that Ukraine should get a new president.

Left-leaning outlets led with Zelenskyy's interview and Rubio's response. Alternative outlets focused on the widening rift, Patriot deliveries, and Washington's sign-off on transfers by allies. Right-leaning outlets had not reported the story at the time of writing; left-leaning and alternative outlets had.